Buddhi's father says US trial 'miscarriage of justice'

The father of IIT alumnus Vikram Buddhi, who was awarded a nearly five-year jail term by a US court for posting hate messages against former President George W Bush, on Saturday sharply reacted to the verdict saying the trial was unfair and a "total miscarriage of justice".

B K Subbarao, a lawyer and former Navy Captain, also said the 38-year-old PhD student of Purdue University will appeal against the ruling.

"The sentence has come without a straight trial and without any valid indictment because essential facts were not stated in the charges," Subbarao told PTI, terming it a "total miscarriage of justice".

"As the indictment was invalid, he should not have been sentenced. Buddhi, who is defending himself in US court, will now file an appeal in the appellate court in Chicago."

Buddhi was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison and an additional three years of supervised release by a US court for posting hate messages in 2006 against Bush and calling for bombings of American infrastructure.

Subbarao said the US criminal Procedure laws required essential facts of the offence to be stated in the charges, which was not done in his son's case.

He said the first charge against Buddhi states "on or before December 30, 2005 Vikram Buddhi knowingly and wilfully threatened to kill George Bush in violation of section 871 of title 18 US code."